This will contribute to raising international tourism arrivals to the region from 109 million in 2015 to 121 million by 2017.

The campaign, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is being supported by private sector giants such as Mastercard and AirAsia.

Fifty special travel experiences, ranging from two to 26 nights, have been created by leading tour operators and cruise lines in Southeast Asia to entice travellers to visit Southeast Asia for the first time, as well as encourage repeat visitors.

AirAsia has pledged to support the year-long campaign. The airline will implement an extensive multimedia awareness campaign across all its operating markets and include the VISIT ASEAN@50 logo in multiple marketing campaigns. AirAsia will also promote its ASEAN Pass, which allows guests to enjoy flights at fixed rates, to encourage travellers to explore its network of more than 100 routes across the region. AirAsia will also run monthly tactical campaigns with special low lead-in prices.

Mastercard will embark on its largest travel campaign to date for the ASEAN region and will work with tourism partners and the global Priceless Cities programme to promote travel to consumers across different countries, languages and cultures. Mastercard will work with issuers and merchant partners to amplify the campaign globally and will use its pricelesslatform to drive travel to and within the ASEAN region.

Speaking at a press conference at the World Travel Market in London 8 November to announce the tour packages, the Chairperson of the VISIT ASEAN@50 campaign, Mr Wardi bin Haji Mohammad Ali, told the media that no collection of 50 trips could definitively represent Southeast Asia, but the 50 chosen by ASEAN’s national tourism organisations were a “very good start”.

“We worked closely with the national tourism organisations of ASEAN member states,” he said. “Together, they selected 50 experiences that were cross-border, accessible to mainstream tourists, were culturally respectful and represented core themes that the NTOs were pleased to be associated with. All 10 ASEAN member states have been included,” said Mr Wardi.

The 50 tours include also cruise trips, a hassle-free and value-for-money holiday option to visit multiple ASEAN countries on a single trip.